It seems that the fashion world and hip hop culture are closer than ever. These days many artists have successfully entered the world of fashion. Earlier this week rapper, Tyler the Creator’s collection Golf Wang made it’s debut. At the CFDA Awards earlier this month, hip hop artist Beyonce graciously accepted the award for ‘Fashion Icon of the Year’ and similarly rapper Kanye West has recently been successful with his highly acclaimed collaboration with adidas titled Yeezy.
As the gap between the once separate worlds closes let’s take a look back at some of the Hip Hop/Clothing brand alliances that will not be forgotten any time soon:
Aaliyah - Tommy Hilfiger
Aaliyah will forever be remembered as the true face of Tommy Hilfiger. Aaliyah’s unique je ne sais quoi brought a new quality to the iconic brand when she participated in the 1996 Tommy Jeans campaign. We can thank the Princess of R&B for popularizing the baggy jeans/crop top look that has recently resurfaced to the forefront of female street style. RIP to a legend.
RUN DMC - Adidas
After the release of RUN DMC’s song dedicated to their brand of choice, Adidas the face of hip hop culture was changed forever, and also landed RUN DMC the first ever endorsement deal between a music act and an athletic brand. Adidas has since joined forces with some of the biggest names in fashion but this collaboration was where it all started.
Biggie Smalls - Versace
When Biggie finally made it as a rapper and his lifestyle shifted, so did his clothing. He began rocking imported Italian goods like Versace sparking a new era in hip hop. Versace owes a lot to Big Poppa for repping the medusa head numerous times throughout his career despite not fitting any available clothing sizes at the time.
LL Cool J - Fubu
Similar to his predecessors in Run DMC, LL Cool J familiarized himself with the classic tracksuit kit complete with a Kangol bucket hat. But he differentiated himself by aligning with athletic apparel brand FUBU. LL Cool J had such an unconditional love for FUBU that he even decided to give the brand a subtle shout out during his freestyle in a Gap campaign whilst wearing one of the separated brand’s snapbacks. Weeks after the commercial aired the FUBU name drop was noticed by Gap and the commercial was pulled off air.
Kanye - Polo
Back when Kanye used to smile he was known to be quite the Ralph Lauren fan. From pink polos to Polo Bear pullovers ‘Ye helped bring back one of the most iconic american labels to the world of hip hop. In recent years the designer Ralph Lauren praised Kanye on his new collection, and due to the pairs interesting history together Ralph began referring to Kanye as his son.
